Friday, December 6, 2013

Jennifer Schwartz Gallery Closing, Crusade Continuing



Atlanta's Jennifer Schwartz opened a show of work on November 1st, 2013 by Winston-Salem-based photographer Heather Evans Smith, from her portfolio The Heart and The Heavy,  with a one-night-only event at Atlanta’s Goat Farm Arts Center and a subsequent exhibition at Schwartz' gallery at 675 Drewry Street in Atlanta's Virginia Highlands, now up through December, and viewable by appointment.

Schwartz then immediately announced that her gallery was closing at the end of the year -- with presumably Smith's show the last one for this long-time major player in the Atlanta photography scene.

Schwartz will now be devoting her time and seemingly boundless energy to her Crusade for Art project.


This project -- which last year involved a cross-country trip in a VW bus -- seeks to create more demand for art, specifically photographic art, or as the announcement puts it, "promoting and developing the careers of photographers and cultivating collectors."

The purpose of Crusade for Art is "to build artists’ capacity to create demand for their work" by "educating and mentoring artists to higher levels of creative and professional development" and by incubating, through programs and advocacy, innovative solutions that connect artists with their audiences."

This new phase of Crusade for Art will involve a range of activities, including national and local chapters of Crusade for Art as well as Crusade Engagement Grants, and you can learn more about it on the Crusade's new website.

I know a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, but I can't help but believe that the closing of Jennifer Schwartz's gallery is a significant blow to the photography scene in Atlanta.

3 comments:

  1. This is such sad news. I never had any connection to the gallery but the paucity of photo galleries in the Southeast is a real obstacle to all photographers and photography supporters in the area.

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  2. Definitely sad news. And the closing speaks volumes about the photography/gallerist scene in Atlanta. All the more reason to support Slow Exposures and Atlanta Celebrates Photography!

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  3. This is such excellent news. Schwartz was an imposter and back stabber.

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